January 30, 2024 Overseas imports brought welcome competition to the U.S. Sodium Hydroxide market in 2023, but as we transition into the new year, it appears this source of relief may be going away. Market prognosticators feel that we may have reached the bottom, as price increases are being tabled by U.S. Chlor-Alkali producers. Will […]
Euro Imports Compete, Drive Caustic Prices Down
July 28, 2023 Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda) pricing has been climbing steadily over the past few years, as U.S. producers shuttered capacity to drive prices up amidst widespread margin erosion. No real relief for the Caustic Soda market was in sight, barring some big decline in demand somewhere. Now, that demand destruction has come. Global […]
Chlor-Alkali Production Curbed by Capacity Rationalization
October 11, 2022 Production levels of Chlor-Alkali chemicals (Caustic Soda, Chlorine, Sodium Hypochlorite, and Hydrochloric Acid) were near normal at the start of 2022. As the year has progressed, however, markets have seen a steady round of increases as multiple producers have shuttered thousands of tons of capacity. Margin erosion is a primary motivator for […]
Plant Outages Plague Sodium Hydroxide
April 21, 2022 Unplanned and planned plant outages have been plaguing the Sodium Hydroxide market. Most recently, disasters at two Chlor-alkali producers are causing ripples. A chlorine leak and fire in a Plaquemine, LA plant did not result in any injuries but has disrupted production at a major Chlor-alkali producer. They have declared Force Majeure […]
Hurricane Ida Another Setback for Supply Chains, But…
September 16, 2021 …On a positive note, Ida was less devastating than the winter storms Uri & Viola last February. (When supply chains have as many problems as they’ve had this year, yeah, we’re looking for the bright side!!) It’s been a rough year for supply chains. Most recently, Hurricane Ida, a dangerous and major […]
Sodium Hydroxide Weathers Another Storm
July 2, 2021 The historic Gulf Freeze in February disrupted supply of many chemicals for months to come. Long-lasting plant outages had major repercussions in the US Sodium Hydroxide market (as well as many others). Rebuilding depleted inventories has been a months-long effort, as production capacities lost continue to be restored. Then, another major weather […]
Polar Storms Paralyze Chemicals
February 19, 2021 MANY chemicals have been severely affected by the winter storms Uri and Viola that rocked the Gulf Coast region this week, including Propylene Oxide, Propylene Glycol, Hydrocarbons, Acetone, Isopropyl Alcohol, P-series Glycol Ethers, E-series Glycol Ethers, Chlorine, Caustic Soda, and Hydrochloric Acid, to name a few. The weather crisis has caused dozens […]
Sodium Hydroxide Market Heats Up
May 12, 2020 As summer nears, the Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic) market is heating up. For three consecutive months, producers have tabled increases, and they appear to be sticking. Here’s how the COVID-19 virus led to a domino effect for Sodium Hydroxide prices… and how the dominoes fell. Amid the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 virus, […]
U.S. Sodium Hydroxide Flows Into South America
June 4, 2019 U.S. exports of Sodium Hydroxide to Brazil have just increased exponentially. The crumbling Pinheiro neighborhood, and the world’s largest alumina refinery, are the reason why. Petrochemical producer Braskem in Brazil has recently shut down salt mining operations following a governmental report citing the salt mines, combined with heavy rainfall, to be the […]
Tariff Hike Will Affect Chemicals
May 10, 2019 Last night, tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of material imported from China increased from 10% to 25%. The increase does include a number of commodity chemicals, and is likely to affect the global market. A few chemicals that could be potentially impacted are: Sodium Hydroxide Titanium Dioxide Acetic Acid Phosphates For […]
